Spring 2024: Memphis and Little Rock

 

Wednesday, 3/30:  250 miles, parked at Tom Sawyer RV Park, West Memphis, AR.

Interstate 40 all the way.

Blue dot is us.

Tom Sawyer, site 65.

Another 4 hour drive on Interstate 40 today.  Traffic through Nashville and Memphis was heavy.  My solution for this is find a tractor trailer and follow it.  The long haul truckers always seem to know what lane to be in.  The trouble is trying to keep up with them sometimes.  :-) 

We are booked here for 3 nights.  Tom Sawyer has become one of, if not the most, favorite park to stay at.  However:

    -- most of the roads are dusty gravel

    -- the sites are not landscaped 

    -- the grass is not irrigated

    -- there is no camp store, tiki hut, or swimming pool

    -- no services, like garbage pickup and wood delivery

Sooooo, what's the appeal?  As retirees, peace and quiet on the banks of the Mississippi River with acres of grass to walk dogs!!  It is so relaxing here watching the barge traffic and the night lights over Memphis.  And the sun rise views over the river and Memphis are stunning.   That's the appeal for us.

Evening light looking up river toward Memphis.

Evening light looking down river.

Sunrise over Memphis.

Saturday, 3/23:  136 miles, Downtown Riverside RV Park, Little Rock, AR

Downtown Riverside is a city owned park.  

Our location and showing the connecting pedestrian
bridge across the Arkansas River to the Clinton Library.

Site 65, on the banks of the Arkansas River.

 We had a short drive today at just a little over 2 hours, so we didn't leave Memphis until 11:00.  Again, like the last 4 drives, it was Interstate 40 all the way.  We arrived at Downtown Riverside Park about 1:30 to a sunny and 60 degree afternoon, and checked in for a 3 night stay.  There is not much green space, but we had no problem walking Parker, and there is a dog play yard as well.  In fact, if you just step outside of the park, there is lots of green space for dogs.  The pedestrian bridge crossing the river is right behind us and leads to the Clinton Presidential Library.  I even took Parker on a walk across the bridge to the Clinton Library.

Thats' our camper on the bottom right.

Beautiful walkway on the former railroad bridge.

Parker checking out our camper from the bridge.

We had a terrible wind and rain storm Sunday afternoon and night.  Fortunately, we were backed in by the pedestrian bridge, and it blocked most of the high wind.

Monday a visit to the President Clinton Museum and Library was on the agenda, and it was only a short 15 minute walk across the bridge. The architecture of the library is stunning. The displays were interesting, with reproductions of the cabinet meeting room and the Oval Office from the White House exactly as it was during Clinton's time. While really interesting, I didn't get the "Wow" feeling, probably because all the events displayed happened during my adult lifetime and were "old news". That said, I'm sure future generations will find it fascinating.

On a final note, this notice was displayed in most of the exhibits that displayed letters and speeches.  While it is probably necessary, it was also disappointing to not see the "real" thing.

Little Rock was a wonderful stop.  So much history here that I didn't even get to discover more of, including the case of the Little Rock Nine where President Eisenhower had to call in the National Guard to enforce integration at Central High School. More about it HERE.   Maybe next time??

Tuesday 3/26:  139 miles, parked at Sunrise RV Park, Texarkana, Arkansas.

Interstate 30 all the way.

Site B-9

This is an easy overnight stop.  There is easy access to fuel and the park is less than a mile off the Interstate.  Sure not fancy, but very, very convenient.  

Thus ends our 7 night trip in Arkansas.  Tomorrow we are off to Texas for 2 weeks.  Stay tuned.

Spring 2024: First up, Pennsylvania to Tennessee

"Parker the Puppy here:  OMG, OMG,  it's RV Road Trip time again!!"

My how time flies.  Almost exactly one year ago, 3/12/23, Parker entered our family as a 9 week-old puppy.  Ten days later we left with Parker on an 8 week RV trip to the Texas Hill Country.  This year we are doing a similar trip, but to San Antonio, Texas for the eclipse and warmer weather.

Parker, last year on March 23, 2023, his first day of camping.

Credits: Red Hot Chili Peppers

Thursday, 3/14:  342 miles, parked at KOA in Jonestown, PA

US 11 and then I-81 all the way.

Jonestown KOA, site 86.

Because of a very mild winter in NNY this year, and an early Spring, we were able to de-winterize the camper a good week before we left home.  That made for a much less stressful time packing and worrying about water leaks.  Jonestown is our "go to" park when heading south.  In March, it's the first one that is open for us, and today we arrived to a beautiful sunny and 77 day.

On Friday, for the first time in many of our stops at Jonestown, we ventured into the villages of Jonestown and nearby Lebanon.  Rolling farmland, wooded countryside and picturesque villages, all on top of a sunny and 70 degree morning made for a pleasant drive.

TICKS!!!  UGH!!!!  Yep, they're back.

Campground trail to Swartara State Park
and the Appalachian Trail

After a mild Northeast winter, tick season appears to be upon us.  I took Parker for a walk along the trail that connects the campground to Swartara State park.  It was a nice path, but brush and tall grass along the sides probably made for good tick habitat.  The path actually connects with the Appalachian Trail a few miles further.  Then, back at the camper, over the course of the evening we found 6, that's right 6 ticks on Parker.  So far, none on us.  

Saturday, 3/16:  243 miles, parked at Walnut Hills RV Park, Staunton, VA

I-81 all the way.

Site 706, water and electric only.

Nice drive today, all on I-81.  We were on the road about 10:30 and arrived at Walnut Hills just about 2:30.  Note to self: there are 2 small gas stations at the I-81 ramps that can easily accommodate a truck and trailer.  We parked in the newer section with water and electric only because there was better Starlink service there.  Our section was less than half full, and the entire park was probably only a quarter full.  A few of the trees are just starting to bud.  This campground is a great place to walk Parker.  In fact, we met up with a stray rooster, and Parker had a stare down with him.

Next time we are in the area, we would like to spend a couple days in the area.  Nearby is the Woodrow Wilson Presidential Library and the New Market Civil War Battlefield.  

Sunday, 3/17:  243 miles, parked at Warriors Path SP. Kingsport, Tennessee.

Interstate 81 all the way today.

Moody Bluffs campground, site 114.

 We left Walnut Hills about 9:30 and arrived at Warriors Path at 1:30.   Warriors Path SP is a new campground for us and is located on the 10 mile long Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir, a part of the South Fork Holston River in east Tennessee.

The sites here are wide, level and paved with full hook ups.  Check in was a bit confusing.  The State Park, in addition to a golf course, has 3 separate campgrounds; primitive only, water and electric service, and full hook up services.  And the campgrounds are not connected.  We followed signs for campground office, and stopped.  But the office is not located in the campground we wanted.  So we had to turn around and find our campground, Moody Bluffs. Very, very confusing!!   The Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation has not even updated their park maps and the new Moody Bluffs campground is shown as Overflow camping.  

Overflow camping, circled in red, is now Moody Bluffs campground.

This is all we were given for directions!!

We finally found our site and sure enough our name was posted on it.  Sooo,  we never really needed to check in.  In hindsight, we could have just gone to our site and pulled in, no questions asked.  Next time we'll know.  So despite the confusion and frustration, the campground and site were very good.

Our view overlooking the Fort Patrick Henry Reservoir from the camper.

The campground is nearly full.  A combination of St. Paddy's Weekend and very nice weather make camping an easy choice for many locals.  Lots of Tennessee flags flying.  And at $38 per night, easily the best deal of any campsite we will have for our entire trip.

To celebrate my bit of Irish ancestry we grilled Reuben sandwiches for dinner.  Neither Judy or I had made them before, but they were great.  Darn, we hadn't planned well and didn't have any Guinness beer on hand though. :-(

Monday is a free day for us, meaning no travel, so we will relax and catch up on laundry and reading. Unfortunately, a cold weather spell is upon us for a few days, thus shortening my dog walking hikes with Parker.  UGH!!   Isn't it supposed to get warmer as we head south???

The afternoon turned out sunny, but very chilly at 42 degrees with a 34 windchill.  Parker and I did take a trail walk in the woods where the wind was calmer.

Amphitheater in the woods.

Stairs done as an Eagle Scout project.

Tuesday, 3/19:  254 miles, parked at Nashville East KOA, Lebanon, TN.

I-81 and then I-40.

Yellow sites are transients.  The rest of
the park seems to be long term.

Site 36, Nashville East KOA.

A smooth drive today, all on Interstate 40.  We arrived about 1:30 to another cool, but sunny afternoon.  We have stayed here once in the past.  This KOA is nice, convenient and a great 1 or 2 night stop.  However, it's a little bit too far from Nashville for easy access to the Music City.  There is a nice KOA right in Nashville for that.

Tomorrow we move on to Arkansas.